Hoist



Oct. 24, 1950 Filed May 27, 1946 M. S. KATOW HOIST 6 Sheets-Sheet l M.S. KATOW Oct. 24, 1950 HOIST Filed May 27, 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 4,#mm2-v M. S. KATOW Oct. 24, 1950 es Smets-sheet s HOIST Filed Hay ,27'-1946 Ott. 24, 1950 M s, KATow 2,527,097

HQIST Filed May 27. 1946 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 M. S. KATOW Oct. 24, 1950HOIST 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed )lay 27, 1946 M. S. KATOW Oct. 24, 1950HOIST 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed may 27, 194e hn-Fig. 2.is a top elevationof the hoist vtion whichv it takes when the aerating unit is lifted fromthe tank, a portion of the associated :pipe structure being omitted toshow a detail oi Patented Oct. 24, 1950 Masa-kam Sz. Katow, Chicago;Ill.,` assignor to Chicago Pump Company, a corporation of Dela- War?Applicationlvlay 27, 1946, Serial No. 672,414

f This invention relates to-a mobile hoist particuflarly'adapted to liftapparatus out of a tank or similar structure. i

,.--AAlthough many ofthe structural characteris- -tics of :thehoist ofthe-present invention are advantageous in. generalfusage, the hoist isespeciallyadvantageous for the removal of air dif- VAfusing-unitsfrom asewage treating tank. YThis hoist will be described, merely by way ofexample,, in connection Jwith a sewage treating appa- -ratus such as isdescribed` and claimed in the z.patent^"tol' fannert, No. 2,328,655,granted September 7,1943. .I f

In I sewage treatingV systems which employ aerating apparatus such as is`disclosed in the i aforementioned Lannert patent, a'multiplicity oi"-tanks is provided with aerating apparatus suspended in each tank forsupplying predetermined yquantities of air to the sewage content of thetank. The r.hoist of Vther-present invention is particularly designed tolifft the Lannert and other aerating apparatus ofthe so-called lswingitype Aoutof the tanks for inspection, repair or replacement. l

Mobile hoists have :been used for this type of vWork in the past,` butthey have not been entirely -satisfactoryibecause ofthe manpowerrequired to -move the hoist into .position onthe' catwalks betweenadjacent tanksVand because of the inability tosatisfactorily anchorthe-hoist to the `rcatwalk. v,Iv have designed novel means for anchoringeach end of. thehoistto stationary an- `zchoring means-.providedadjacent the .tanks-so that the hoist may perform its intended'iunc-.f-tionwithout being made excessively cumbersome or heavy. :Y The ,hoistmayybe. moved readily on :thegcatwalk to any desired location and thenAmanipulated into proper position by a single operator.

The` manipulation of previouslyknown hoists yperforming the samel workrequired the efforts of three men. Once in the desiredposition, thehoist is operated to lift the aerating apparatus from the tanks. Itmaybe operated Aand the structure onthecatwalk 'to which itis fisacrossisectional view taken along the line 3--3 ofV Fig. v2, thedotted .line position showing the position ofthe parts of the hoist whenrthe aerating unit is in position within the tank, a'sinligl;` i 1A f''i Fig. 4 is a perspective viewl ofthe hoist;

' Fig. 5 is affragmentary perspectiveview 'show- .ing the rear portionof the chassis with the hydraulic motor removed;

Fig. 6 is fa perspective-'view:ofsthelift arm anchored, with partsterior thereof;

Fig.'.7fis afront .elevation 'ofthe hoist, the dotted lines `showing theposition ofv thepartsas sectioned to show the invthe hoist is about tobe engaged with the anchoring structure; f

Fig. 8` is across sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of Fig.l 7and;

manually, or it may beoperated by any conventional air, electric orhydraulic motor, or by other means, as desired.;A

lReferring now to the drawings: w. v Y v Figure 1 is a perspective-viewshowingfthe hoist -in position on a catwalk to lift an aerating unit outof a tank;

in the posithe said structure.

Fig. l9 is a crosssectional View, partly broken away; alongtheline 9-9of Fig; 2.

. In .the drawingsftherelis shown a pair of sewage tanks I0 andk IIhaving a'common partitionwall, suitably Aof@ concrete, the top portionof which'takes' the form cfa-Y having diverging branches' I2 and I3overhangingr the edges fof adjacent tanksv I0 and II. V'tions` I4 and"I5 are securedV to the branches I2 'Vertical top secand .I3byfanchorbars I6 and Il embedded in the concrete. A main air supply pipe IBis'supported in' any conventional manner in the space stood-that anydesired number of pairs of tanks may befprovided and a single hoist maybe moved from one pair of tanks t0 another,l as needed.

An' elbow 20 is swiveled toa stationary hollow head 2 I, as indicated at22, Fig. 2. The'air moves from the supply pipe I8 through a feeder line23 (Fig. 3) to the hollow head 2| and through the elbow 20 to a pipesection 24 which is tted at one end to the elbow 2U and at its other endto arswivel joint, a pipe section and a depending diffuser unit (notshown), as in the Lannert patent. The head 2l is provided with anintegral flange 25 which is secured to a similarilange 25 on the end ofthe" feeder line 23 by means of bolts 21, a's'shown in Figs.r 2 and 6.The stationary -head 2l is provided with an integral lug 23 prohas atriangular area with its apex at the juncture of the lug 28 with thehead 2 I.

The chassis of the hoist comprises a pair of longitudinal metal bars 3Uand 3| joined in any conventional manner by a plurality of cross bars32. The bars 30, 3| and 32 may be of any desired shape, but tubular barsare preferred because of the saving in weight. A fiat plate 33 ispermanently secured at one end of the chassis and is provided withapertures 34 (Fig. 5) so that a suitable pump 35 may be mounted on theplate 33 by means of bolts 36. The pump is shown diagrammatically inFig. 4, but is omitted from the other figures for the sake of clarity.The pump may be operated manually or by any suitable type of motor (notshown).

The chassis is supported on three casters 31, 38 and 39, as seen inFigures 4 and 'l The caster 31 is rotatably mounted in a bracket 40having a stem 4| projecting into a tubular casing 42. The casing 42 issupported by a bracket 43 extending angularly from the chassis bar 38.The casing 42 contains a coiled spring 44 confined between a movablewasher 45 and a xed washer 46. Both washers 45 and 46 are apertured andthe stem 4| is reduced in thickness, as indicated at 41, to pass throughthe apertures with the shoulder of the stem 4| in contact with the lowersurface of the washer 45. The upper end of the stem 41 has a pin 48passing therethrough to prevent disengagement of the stem from the upperwasher 46. The caster 31 is free to move in any direction.

The caster 38 is mounted in a manner similar to caster 31 except that inthe case of caster 38 the stem 49 has a pin 15D projecting therefrom andfitting in a slot extending longitudinally in the tubular casing 52 soas to fix the caster 38 against any swiveling action (see Fig. 5). Thecasing 52 is supported by a bracket 52 extending angularly from the rearend cross bar 32.

The caster 39 is rotatably mounted in a bracket 53 having a stem 54projecting into a tubular casing 55 supported by the bracket 56extending from the chassis bar 3|. The stem 54 is reduced in thickness,as indicated at 51, Fig. l7, so as to permit it to pass through anaperture in a movable washer 58 in the bottom of the casing 55 with theshoulder of the stem abutting the washer 58. A coiled spring 59encircling the reduced portion 51 of the stem 54 is confined in thecasing 55 between washer 58 and xed washer 58. The top end of the casing55 is substantially covered by an arm 60. The reduced portion 51 of thestem 54 projects into an aperture in the arm 60 and is fixed thereto bymeans of a pin 6|.

The arm 60 extends on one side of the tubular casing 55 and is pivotedat its end to the end of a handle 62, as indicated at 63.

The handle 62 comprises a bar 54 having a cross bar 65 at one end and abifurcated bracket 65 at its other end pivoted to the arm 60. The sidesof the bracket 66 straddle the arm 60 and the bottoms of the said sidescontact the top of the tubular casing 55. The pin 6| fixes the stem 54and the caster 39 relative to the arm 68 so that the caster 39 canswivel only as the handle 62 is turned relative to the tubular casing55.

This arrangement of one freely swiveled caster 31, one fixed caster 38,and the caster 39 swiveling only with the handle 62 enables the operatorto maneuver the chassis of the hoist readily by rotation about theintersecting point of the extending centerlines of the xed caster 38 andthe caster 39 by swinging the handle 62 around the cylindri- 4 calcasing 55 and pushing or pulling on the cross bar 65.

Referring particularly to Fig. 7, it will be seen that downward pressureon the handle 62 will force the tubular casing 55 downwardly against theaction of the coiled spring 59, as indicated by the dotted lines. Sincethe tubular casing 55 is rigid with the chassis bar 3|, such downwardmovement will cause that side of the chassis to be tilted downwardly tothe dotted line position. This tilting of the left hand side of thechassis, as seen in Fig. 7, causes a slight lifting movement of theright hand side of the chassis for a purpose to be hereinafterdescribed.

The chassis bar 30 is provided at the rear end with an anchoring hook 61and at the other end with a positioning hook 68 (Figs. 4 and 5). Thehook 61 has a horizontal flange 69 and a pair of vertical wings 10 and1|. When the hoist is properly positioned for operation, the flange 69is positioned under the lug 28 integral with the head 2| opposite theair diffusing unit which is to be lifted by the hoist. The hook 68comprises a pair of outwardly projecting, converging flanges 12 and 13(Fig. '7). When the hoist is finally positioned for operation the hook68 will be engaged with the flanges 12 and 13 on opposite sides of thevertical web 29 on top of the lug 28 integral with the stationaryportion of the' unit to be lifted.

The hoist comprises ahydraulic ram 14 pivotally mounted on one of thecross bars 32 of the chassis, as indicated at 15. The other end of thehydraulic ram is pivotally secured to a tension link 16, as indicated at11. The bottom end of the tension link 16 is pivotally mounted, asindicated at 18, on a cross bar 32 spaced from the cross bar on whichthe hydraulic ram is mounted so that the ram and tension link form atriangle with the chassis as a base in the rest position of the hoist,as in Fig. 4, and in the operative position at the beginning of its workto remove an air diffusing unit, as in Fig. 1. A hose 19 (Fig. 4) leadsfrom the pump 35 to the ram 14. Fluid forced through the hose by thepump causes the ram to expand and this expansion forces the tension linkto move around its pivot point 18. When the pump is stopped and theweight (of the air diffusing unit) pulling on the tension link causesthe ram to contract, the uid flows through the hose 19 in the oppositedirection back into the reservoir of the pump. The tension link has aspring 8| secured thereto, as indicated at 82, Fig. 3, with its otherend secured to the chassis, as indicated at 83, for a purpose to behereinafter described.

A cable 84 has one end secured to the free end of the tension link, asindicated at 85, and has its other end secured to a lifting arm 86(Figs. 4, 6 and 8), as indicated at 81. The lifting arm comprises anangular plate 88 mounted for rotation on one end of the chassis by meansof a bearing 89, shaft assembly 90 and bearing 9|. The shaft assembly 90carries interiorly thereof a pin 92 which projects outwardly for apurpose hereinafter described. The bearing 9| is positioned about theshaft assembly 90 and these elements are enclosed by a housing 93 and anend plate 94. The lifting arm 86 has one end bent at right angles, asindicated at 95, and this end is recessed, as at 96 (Fig. 4), to receivethe pipe section 24.

Referring particularly to Figs. 6 and 7, the method of preparing thehoist for operation will be described. The elbow 20 which is swiveled tothe Stationary head 2| is secured in place by a Mtoit s1 journau'ed ina' 'bearing' as and threaded l `into an' aperture inthe elbow 20,*asindicated at tion"between"the head'l 2l andthe elbow 20 topermitswiveling 'action' therebetween. The el- "bow 2li-lisrecessedasindicated at 'm3, in line with. the bolt 91,'to"rec'eive'the"end of the pin' 92.

` When thehoist `chassis is positioned' between twov oppositeA 'pipesystems with the `fiange E9 under one lug 23, the chassis is maneuveredby means of the handle 62 until the hook 68 is adjacent the opposite lug28 and the pin 92 is partially entered in the recess |03. Depression ofthe handle 62 and the resulting tilting action about the end of pin 92causes the hook 68 to rise slightly. While the handle is still depressedand the hoist is still tilted, the chassis is pushed towards elbow 2G.This pushes hook 38 over the vertical web 29 so that the sloping flanges12 and 13 straddle the web, and the pin 92 is pushed into the recess W3as far as it can go. Pressure on the handle is now released and thiscauses the chassis to level off and lock the hook 68 to lug 28.

Starting from the position of the hoist illustrated in Fig. 1, and indotted lines in Fig. 3, uid is forced into the hydraulic ram Ill by apump (shown conventionally at 35, Fig. 4) operated by hand or by anysuitable type of motor, and the ram is expanded. The expansion of theram forces the tension link T6 to move on its pivot thereby exerting apull on the cable 34. This motion continues until the apparatus reachesthe position illustrated in Fig. 3. As shown in solid lines in Fig. 3,the lifting arm 86 has been rotated 180 degrees and the pipe 24 isextending vertically upwards. Since the aerating apparatus isconstructed as shown in Fig. 1 of the patent to Lannert No. 2,328,655,the diffuser unit will then be accessible for inspection, repair orreplacement by a person on the catwalk. When the fluid is allowed toflow from the ram back to the pump reservoir the force of the spring 8lis sufcient to start the reverse rotation of tension link 16 and thecontraction of the ram. The weight of the pipe 24 will carry it back toits position shown in Fig. 1.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention inconsiderable detail in connection with the air diffusing unit of theaforementioned Lannert patent, it will be understood that thedescription is illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details ofstructure may be modified or changed, without departing from the spiritor scope of the invention, and other aerating units or other devices maybe lifted with the hoist of my invention. Thus, for example, caster 38may be duplicated to provide two or more casters with the axis of thewheels along the same line, and freely movable caster 31 may beduplicated anywhere on the chassis. The minimum required number ofcasters are three, as described in connection with the preferredembodiment. Also, it is manifest that hook 58 may be mechanically lockeddirectly to lug 28 without being interlocked with web 29, as

described, thereby eliminating the need to tilt the chassis.Accordingly, I do not desire to be restrictedto the exact details ofstructure described, except as limited by the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A hoist comprising a chassis having three supportingcasters, said hoist being adapted to kkbe'witli a'pairl :oft Yiixedlugs," one :of

fthe length of Lsaid chassis, a hook on said chassis bengageable withsaid second lug, and means for rocking said chassis vertically about aline Vexftending between two of saidcasters to facilitate 'Y engagementof said chassis vwithsaid rst mentioned lug. Y y

2. A hoist comprising a chassis having'three supporting casters arrangedin triangular re- 'lfationship, which is adap'ted'vto be used'y with apair vof fixed lugsspaced apart a distance substantially equal tothelength of said hoist, means on one end of said hoist engageable with theunderside of one of said lugs, means on the other end of said hoistnormally spaced slightly below the upper portion of said other lug, andmeans for tilting said chassis to engage said second mentioned meanswith the upper portion of said second mentioned lug.

3. A hoist comprising a chassis having three supporting casters arrangedin triangular relationship, which is adapted to be used with a pair ofxed lugs spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the length ofsaid hoist, each of said lugs having a horizontal flange and a Verticalweb extending above said flange, a hook on one end of said chassisengageable with the underside of said flange on one of said lugs,another hook on the opposite end of said chassis having a pair ofsloping anges engageable with the vertical web on the opposite lug, saidsecond mentioned hook being normally spaced too low to pass over saidvertical web, and means to tilt said chassis to permit said secondmentioned hook to pass over said vertical web to facilitate engagementand disengagement of said sloping flanges and said vertical web.

4. A hoist comprising a chassis, three tubular members secured to saidchassis in triangular relationship, a coiled spring encased in each ofsaid tubular members, three casters each having a stem projecting intoone of said tubular members, a horizontal arm extending from one of saidtubular members, and a handle pivoted to said horizontal arm andengageable with the top of the adjacent tubular member to depress it andtilt said chassis against the action of the spring encased in saidtubular member.

5. A hoist comprising a chassis having three supporting casters arrangedin triangular relationship, means adjacent one of said casters fortilting said chassis around a line between said other two casters tofacilitate engagement of said chassis with supporting means separatefrom said hoist, a link pivoted at one end to said chassis, said linkhaving a cable secured thereto, an expanding ram pivoted at one end tosaid chassis and at the other end to said link and means to expand andcontract said ram to move said link about its pivot.

6. A hoist comprising a chassis having three supporting casters, a hookon said chassis, a lifting arm on said chassis having a pin projectingtherefrom, said hook contacting a xed support when said pin is partiallyengaged with an object to be moved thereby preventing further movementof the chassis in that direction in normal position, and means adjacentone of said casters for tilting said chassis vertically about a lineextending between said other tWo casters to permit said hook to rideover said fixed support and t0 permit complete engagement of said pinwith said object to be moved.

'7. A hoist comprising a chassis mounted on casters, each of saidcasters having a stem projecting into a spring encased in a tubularmember mounted on said chassis, a lifting arm pivoted on said chassisand having a projecting pin engageable with a movable object which is tobe lifted. said pin being normally out of alignment wlth its properholding position, thereby preventing full engagement of said pin withsaid movable object, and means cooperating with one of said tubularmembers for rocking said chassis to permit full engagement of said pinwith said movable object.

MASAKAZU S. KA'I'OW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

